A passion FOR fashion Mother and daughter Dio Old Girls Bailey Mark (2007) and Trish Mark (Scown, 1975) have combined their extensive experience in the apparel industry to start a business together. In March 2020, they launched Marlow, a premium women’s athleisurewear brand. We spoke to Bailey about why she created Marlow and the triumphs and challenges of the past two and a half years.
How did you first get into the fashion industry? Having grown up with my mother in the industry, I was fortunate enough to begin working in fashion from a young age. During the school holidays, when I was about 12 or 13, I used to work in the warehouse packing orders for companies Mum worked for. I worked alongside the quality manager for Line 7 and Canterbury doing the quality checks, and I learnt so much. Mum would take me on buying trips to China, or we’d see all the great samples and textiles on her return. I was immersed in the industry from a very young age and grew to love fashion and fabrics. After I left Dio, I did a BCom in marketing at the University of Auckland. I was fortunate to jump straight into a fashion marketing role, which really kick-started my career. At 23, I moved to London for four years, and it was always my dream to work in fashion on a bigger scale. It was hard yards initially but persevering certainly paid off. The travel and networking opportunities were fantastic. I often chat with many of my London-based work colleagues to check in on the latest Northern hemisphere trends. 76
DIO TODAY
Bailey Mark
I had an extensive career working for some of the world’s most successful fashion brands including River Island, Miss Selfridge, Glassons, The Warehouse and Moochi. As global wholesale e-commerce manager for River Island, I was exposed to the biggest e-commerce traders on the planet: ASOS (UK), Rocket group (Netherlands), Amazon (UK/US). It was exhilarating and fast paced when e-commerce trading was hitting its stride pre COVID. All these brands and clients taught me a different aspect of the industry – sales, marketing, design, sourcing and
e-commerce. I’ve transferred those skills into starting my own brand. I have a very commercial understanding of the industry and I’ve learnt what women want and how they like to shop.
Is Marlow your first clothing brand? Yes, it is. It’s been a dream of mine to start my own business. I thoroughly enjoy having control over the daily business decisions and I love the flexibility of running my own schedule. I also love working with talented people, and in the fashion industry you can’t go a day without meeting one of those.
